“The formula of “I am the independent candidate of 300,000 people”, we must stop that, says the man who has sat on the municipal council since 2013. I myself have used this type of argument, all this patent- there, over the years. I believed it. But after eleven years of municipal politics, the observation I make is that we need a group to think carefully about Gatineau. For me, it has become essential to have an interesting proposal for citizens. To the question: are we still capable in Gatineau of running for mayor and playing politics outside of a party, my answer is clear, it’s no.
In this sense, he ranks behind the chairman of the board, Steven Boivin, who made approximately the same remarks during an interview with The right, last Monday. Daniel Champagne believes that the party formula must be refined at the municipal level in order to prevent cities from finding themselves trapped in systematic blockages due to the composition of their council.
“Whether it’s a team that comes together around a person or a party, the model doesn’t matter,” he adds. However, the political offer must become collective. It can no longer be an individual proposal based on a personality.”
The president of the municipal council Steven Boivin and the current mayor Daniel Champagne. (Patrick Woodbury/Le Droit)
To independent councilors who think that coming together around an independent candidate for mayor can represent an acceptable compromise, Mr. Champagne recalls the result of the by-election which has just concluded. “Six people lining up behind a candidate is a form of grouping,” he insists. We can no longer claim to be independent. I mean, at some point you have to take responsibility.”
The reflection of 2021
Daniel Champagne did not expect to become mayor of Gatineau when he decided to run for a third term as councilor for the Versant district, in 2021. He claims to have thought about it.
“Ah yes, very, very seriously,” he said. It tempted me. I felt there was support for me. But it wasn’t enough. I had a vision for Gatineau, but I wondered if I had a complete plan. I asked myself if my dissatisfaction with Action Gatineau was enough, if I really had better to offer. I have decided not to seek a mandate at town hall.”
— Daniel Champagne
Many people run for office with the sole real ambition of having an experience, believes Mr. Champagne.
“At town hall, that would have been my case and I definitely didn’t want to do that,” he insists. Besides, those who do this tend to get caught quite quickly afterwards. The scope is less important when it comes to a councilor, but at town hall, it can mean that your mandate is long and tough cursed.”
The Bélisle years
Daniel Champagne primarily served as president of the municipal council during his three terms. This led him to work closely with Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin and France Bélisle.
“As a councilor, I have always thought, and I still think, that the mandate entrusted to me by the population is to work with the person who is elected to town hall. So I rowed with France Bélisle for two years. I had some interesting experiences with his leadership style. I was working on making it work, but obviously it was difficult for her. The political contest was not easy for Ms. Bélisle and it did not become easy for those around her and for the rest of the council. I certainly don’t blame Ms. Bélile. I understand that she has been through difficult things, but for us, finding a balance has not been easy.
The former mayor of Gatineau, France Belisle accompanied by councilor Daniel Champagne, during the 2023 flood. (Simon Séguin-Bertrand/Archives Le Droit)
Daniel Champagne admits to having momentarily moved away from the values on which he has built his political career so far; values of collaboration, openness and listening, he lists. Previously allergic to partisan attacks and ready to jump on the table as soon as an exchange between two elected officials went beyond decorum, Mr. Champagne for a time toughened his tone with his colleagues.
“At one point, people around me, loved ones, said to me: “What are you doing?” That’s when I realized. And it was during the last budget that I told myself that enough was enough. There was a break at that point. That’s when I told myself that I couldn’t do a full term with this attitude, being anything other than what I really am, a collaborative guy, a gang guy, a guy who likes dialogue and who feeds off the ideas and energy of others.”
The municipal council was heading straight into a wall in the fall of 2023. He was then president of the executive committee. He could not imagine submitting a budget to the council for a vote that did not support a majority of elected officials.
“I was president of the executive, I had to act and I went to see my colleagues and we made a connection,” he says. It works. A few days later, we adopted our budget by a majority.”
Daniel Champagne never spoke to France Bélisle again after his resignation. He wants to tell her that he recognizes that what she experienced was difficult, but that he did not share her perception of the dysfunction of the council. “I wish her to flourish professionally and I understand what she went through,” he adds. I can’t put myself in her shoes, but I recognize that she might have felt that way.”
The mayor’s chair
A few days before resigning, Ms. Bélisle took care to appoint Daniel Champagne as deputy mayor. Even then, he didn’t expect to find himself mayor until the end of the week. He says that several of them tried to convince the ex-mayor to stay in office.
Several types of arrangement were mentioned to try to avoid a by-election less than two years before the end of the mandate. The rest is known. Mr. Champagne became mayor to provide a four-month interim.
The cabinet windows above the main entrance to the Citizen’s House. (Martin Roy/Archives Le Droit)
Once in office, the first thing he did with the mayor’s chair was to bring it closer to the large window which allows the office to overlook Laurier Street.
“It was my first day,” he says. I arrived very early that morning. It must have been 6 a.m. I sat and thought, for over an hour. I asked myself who I was politically and what values I really relied on. I made telephones. I spoke to former mayors Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, Michel Légère, Marc Bureau and Yves Ducharme. We didn’t know he was going to show up at that time. I had a very good discussion with each of them. I came to the conclusion that I should definitely not disincarnate myself.”
Echo chambers
Thus, as soon as he took office, Daniel Champagne wanted to work on rebuilding bridges within the council. He recalls that important files have progressed, even unblocked, in the few months he has been in office.
“The headquarters, homelessness and the tram, all that has progressed and that’s very good, but the real job I had to do during those four months was to regroup the council and if there is a legacy that can be attributed to me is this, a tightly woven piece of advice.”
— Daniel Champagne
The table is well set for Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, he adds.
“She comes with a plan, a vision and she is determined,” says Mr. Champagne. She has all the skills and experience necessary to hold this position. The new mayor is part of a renewal, a form of progressivism that we see in many other cities in Quebec, but that we saw less in Gatineau,” he explains.
“We sometimes have the perception that there is strong opposition to this movement in Gatineau, but when we look at the results of the last election, this is obviously not the case,” he notes. We need to stop thinking that the majority is opposed because a small number of people are complaining about the damn empty buses in an echo chamber. For empty buses, we have two choices. Either we remove them from the road, or we find a way to fill them. I am one of those who choose the second option.
Daniel Champagne should once again be given important responsibilities by the new mayor Marquis-Bissonnette. He has already announced that he is leaving politics at the end of this mandate.
